It’s a Dog’s Life

W.C. Fields famously once said never work with animals or children, but then again, he never got to experience Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl. The animal lover’s answer to the Super Bowl is just about as far from gridiron gruffness as you can get. Instead of touchdowns and tackles, it’s canine cuteness and animal athleticism—not to mention birds that tweet, water bowl cams and blimp steering hamster pilots.

Let’s face it, with wardrobe malfunctioning half time shows and commercials that compete for shock value and ratings, one could argue that the Super Bowl isn’t the wholesome family entertainment of yore.

In its eight year, the Puppy Bowl pokes fun at all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the football championship, throws in some squeaky toys and lets some of the cutest–and adoptable pets– play around. All of the animals featured, including the pigskin cheering squad and kitten half-time show are available for adoption. The show premieres Super Bowl Sunday at 3 p.m. and repeats all night until well after the football champions have been crowned. While it won’t pull in Super Bowl like numbers, keep in mind last year, the Puppy Bowl pulled in 9.2 million viewers. That’s a lot of kibble in puppy speak.